Hallam Whitehead

Hallam advises clients of all sizes on the protection, exploitation and defence of their intellectual property rights, from entrepreneurs to multinational companies.

He has experience of working with clients in a variety of sectors, and pays attention to wider commercial objectives when offering advice on intellectual property matters.

Hallam focuses on contentious disputes, and has acted for clients in disputes at the UK Trade Mark Tribunal, the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, the High Court, and Court of Appeal. He is most often instructed in instances where clients are accused of copyright infringement, trade mark infringement and the like, as well as in circumstances in which clients are keen to protect or otherwise enforce their intellectual property rights against third parties where they are being infringed.

Hallam is also experienced in recovering domains for clients, as well as taking action against harmful social media accounts and websites.

He also advises in relation to corporate transactions and corporate restructuring . This work incorporates matters such as reviewing warranties, conducting IP due diligence and IP audits.

Examples of Hallam’s work include:

• Acting for a client using the Nominet Dispute Resolution Service to retake control of a vital company domain from a company director in the context of a wider shareholder dispute.
• Preparing a successful security for costs application on behalf of a client in a notable High Court claim, leading to the order of a substantial, publicised costs award in favour of the client.
• Convincing the Intellectual Property Office to grant a trade mark to a client which had been refused in the first instance.
• Settling a complex trade mark infringement dispute pre-trial on favourable terms, ensuring the risk of any future claim was effectively nullified and providing clearance for the client to proceed with a crucial transaction.
• Drafting various trade mark specifications for clients, ensuring the respective trade marks were registered with the strongest scope of protection, working closely with clients to ensure that the applications provided sufficient protection to account for all future brand expansion in the coming years.